For what? For standing in front of that window? For making him move? For existing in a world where bullets are how people solve problems?
For all of it.
"We need to go," the doctor says gently. "Now."
I nod. Can't speak. Just hold Father's hand for one more breath. Two. Three.
Then I let go.
They wheel him away. I watch through the window as the bed disappears down the corridor, surrounded by doctors and nurses who will either save him or fail.
And I stand there in the empty room, covered in his blood, and feel my entire world tilt sideways.
I hear his voice echoing down the corridor, sharp and demanding. "Where is she? Where's my sister?"
Reilan.
Then he's there. Bursting through the door of the room where they just wheeled Father out. His eyes find mine across the empty space, and I see my own fear reflected back at me.
"Aoife." He crosses to me in three long strides.
I don't remember moving. But suddenly I'm in his arms, and he's holding me so tightly I can't breathe.
And I break.
The sobs come from somewhere deep inside. Violent. Wrenching. They tear through me like something alive, clawing its way out. Reilan just holds on, one hand in my hair, the other pressed against my back, keeping me together while I fall apart.
"He's in surgery," I manage between gasps. "They don't know. They don't know if he'll—"
"Shh." Reilan's voice is rough. "He's strong. He'll make it through."
But I can hear the uncertainty underneath. The fear he's trying to hide.
I pull back enough to look at him. "It was meant for me." The confession spills out. "The bullet. It was meant for me, Reilan. I was standing right there, and Father moved, and—"
"Stop." His hands frame my face, forcing me to meet his eyes. "This is not your fault. Do you hear me? None of this is your fault."
But it is. The bullet had my name on it. Father just happened to be standing in the way.
"Who did this?" Reilan's voice drops. Goes hard. "Who shot him?"
"We don't know." William's voice cuts through from across the room. I'd forgotten he was there. He pushes off the wall, moving closer. "Yet."
Reilan's eyes cut to him. "You’d better find out. Fast. Because when we do…"
"When we do," William interrupts, stepping into Reilan's space, "they'll be dealt with. My way."
The air between them crackles. Reilan's jaw tightens, but William doesn't back down. Doesn't even blink. There's something dangerous in his stance, in the way he holds himself.A reminder that he's not just my unwanted fiancé, he's a Murphy. And right now, in this moment, he's the one calling the shots.
Reilan looks like he wants to argue. To assert his authority as my brother, as an O'Rourke. But after a long moment, his gaze shifts back to me.
"Come on. Sit. You look like you're about to collapse."
He guides me out of the room and down the hall to a private waiting area. I sink into one of the uncomfortable chairs, and Reilan sits beside me. His arm wraps around my shoulders, and I let myself lean against him the way I used to when we were kids. When the world was simpler and I still believed our father could protect us from anything.
The waiting room is too quiet. Just the hum of fluorescent lights and the distant beeping of machines. William stands by the window, phone pressed to his ear, speaking in low tones I can't make out. Security guards stationed at both doors. A nurse checks in every twenty minutes to tell us there's no news yet.
We wait.
